What was the first item you designed
I was a child completely obsessed with Lego and Meccano, building everything from fire stations to houses. With new pieces available every year, birthday presents were never a problem for my parents! Although she didn’t realise it at the time, my mother’s enthusiasm for old buildings and houses in general, also had a profound effect. When I was about seven we used to stop whenever we passed an old building and, if possible, go in and have a look around it. She would point out any interesting features and her enthusiasm, despite no formal education in the subject, rubbed off on me.As a teenager I renovated an old stone building on the farm as a place for me and my friends to meet and it was a good test just in case the reality of the architecture course proved different to the dream, but I loved doing it.
Why did you decide to become an architect?
From a very early age I was into buildings the way other kids are into cars or animals and by the time I reached secondary school, I knew architecture was the only career for me. Being totally certain about it I thought ‘why waste time doing A levels when a Btech National Diploma in construction would get me into the architecture course at Queen’s University Belfast and give me a head start so that’s what I did and where I went.What was your first professional commission and where was it built
As I love looking at old buildings of any shape or type, and taking photographs as well, it was maybe appropriate that it was the renovation of a thatched cottage. Following completion of the work I was really thrilled when the cottage was chosen as an example of good practice for the Northern Ireland Rural Design Guide Building on Tradition. After graduating I joined Consarc Design Group and loved my time working with them, especially alongside highly respected conservation architects such as Bronagh Lynch and Dawson Stelfox. It was a very busy period as I continued to help out on the farm – I’m an only son – as well as doing my own private commissions. Travelling from County Derry to Belfast was, I reluctantly had to admit, not the best use of time so I left Consarc and joined a local practice, McGurk Architects. They are highly regarded throughout Northern Ireland and have a wide range of expertise, and within a few years I was one of the senior architects. By that time I had built up so many private clients that in 2011 I decided to launch my own practice.Who and what have influenced you
The two who stand out are Frank Lloyd Wright for his Falling Water house and Philip Johnston’s Glass House, also in the USA. Frank Lloyd Wright in particular did things way ahead of his time and both of them pushed the boundaries with their design and materials with buildings that not only met the needs of their clients, but also respected their surroundings. How do you achieve that? The honest truth is you can’t tell until the design is built but if you listen to your clients and study those buildings that do work, then you should be on the right track.
